Benue Reps member canvasses for North Central Development Commission

Benue Reps member canvasses for North Central Development Commission

As a way of bringing succour to the victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks across the middle belt region of Nigeria, a federal lawmaker, Hon. Mark Terseer Gbillah, has recommended the establishment of North Central Development Commission (NCDC).

It could be recalled that, the National Assembly recently passed the bill for the establishment of North East Development Commission (NEDC), to help rehabilitate the Boko Haram ravaged areas across the region.

Also, a Bill for the establishment of South East Development Commission (SEDC) scaled through second reading at the Senate last week.

Addressing newsmen in his office in Abuja, Hon. Gbillah said only establishment of agencies and commissions would help rehabilitate and reconstruct the middle belt region, which had suffered great wreck in the hands of Fulani herdsmen.

The lawmaker, who represents Gwer East/Gwer West Federal constituency of Benue State, also called on the federal government to declare Fulani herdsmen as terrorist group, in line with the position of the United Nations (UN).

“Our constitution in section 14, subsection 2b makes it clear that, the duties of government is welfare and security of all the citizens in this country.

“Now, members of my constituency, citizens of my state and other states in Nigeria are not feeling that sense of belonging, because the federal government has refused to recognise, first of all, that herdsmen attacks are terrorist actions.

“Even the United Nations has declared it, that they are ranking in the top 4, after ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, then comes the herdsmen.

“If they have assumed such prominence as terrorists globally, why is it taking the Nigerian govt so long to recognise that, this is a national security problem”, Gbillah asked?

The lawmaker also queried the exclusion of victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks from the many intervention programs of the federal government and international donor agencies.

He said, “there are several intervention agencies and schemes, that this government has put in place since they came into office, like Victim Support Fund, Presidential Committee on North East Initiative, in the past, we had also had the NDDC, to intervene in the restiveness in Niger Delta; but why has this issue not assumed this level of prominence, when my people are being killed daily. When the entire Benue State and middle belt region is under siege?

“The very essence of agricultural backbone of this country is threatened. We cannot go to farm, we cannot maintain any means of livelihood, and the government has not done anything about this.

“I want to make it clear, that I’m very disappointed and the people of my constituency are also very disappointed in this government and in the international development agencies like the UN, EU, UNDP, DFID; they have shamefully turned the blind eye to what is going on elsewhere in the country. And it seems as if it is a farce, to be throwing all your money in one section of the country so you could be seen to be doing something, when there are other parts of the country now that are wallowing in penury, without any intervention from the government.

“No agency has been set up about the issue of herdsmen attacks. We know of communities that have been sacked, thousands of people that have been killed.

“It is on records that in 2016, Boko Haram killed less people than herdsmen, the herdsmen killed more people. Between 2015 to 2017, the number of people killed by herdsmen is almost the same with those killed by Boko Haram. What has been done by the government? Nothing!

“At the inception of this crisis when this administration came into power, I was one of those who raised first motion about this issue in 2015.

“They said they set up a committee, nobody here can even tell me where is the committee, or who are members of the committee, what the committee is doing, nobody knows.

“It leads us to no option but, just like there is clamour for South East Development Commission, that it’s time, our people in the middle belt start canvassing for a North Central Development Commission, because, we too, envisaged, that the level of damage done to our communities, requires years of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

“This is clearly a time that our people need to rise up and start to pursue the creation of some form of agencies or commissions that will handle this matter. I appreciate the fact, that other parts of the country too, like Ekiti, Enugu, have had these attacks, but the whole world recognises that, the core of the interest of these herdsmen is in the north central, and it is not farfetched, and that is simply because, that is the most fertile ground in Nigeria for agricultural activities.

“So, it is something that we will not relent to lift up our voices as the representatives of the people, to say that we are no longer keeping quiet over this matter, the international development partners will be called”.

The lawmaker had earlier moved a motion on the green chamber, on the need to intervene in the incessant killings, destruction of property and displacement of communities by rampaging herdsmen.

It was unanimously resolved resolved at the plenary, that an ad-hoc committee be set up, to interface with relevant ministries and agencies of the federal government, the affected state governments and international agencies.

While appreciating his colleagues for their cooperation during the plenary, Hon. Gbillah promised to secure the attention of the federal government and international agencies to the plights of the victims of herdsmen attacks.

“We will go to the UN, we will go to the EU, we will go wherever they are and meet them and ask them, why are you ignoring this? This is not acceptable to our people, you cannot just focus on only one part of the country and then turn the blind eye on the other side.

“This is really the essence of what we are looking for intervention from FG for. I want to point out here that the Victims Support Fund, for instance, in their mandate, they are supposed to be involved in the rehabilitation and the welfare of victims of terrorism, but because our federal government does not view herdsmen attacks as terrorism, the Support Fund focuses attention on only one part of the country and this is ridiculous.

“Do they want all of us to be killed in the North Central before they realise that there is a problem?

“A lot of people have alluded to the fact that, these herdsmen come from other parts of the region, not from Nigeria, so if that is the case, then it is a clear case of national security and it is a war situation. You do not allow foreigners to enter and kill your people without any intervention. It’s a very funny situation,” he added.